The Elephant
by K.H. Wright
Summary: The glitter of the stars lays bare many things.


**A/N: Sooo instead of working on the current story I should be doing, I was messing around on this website, trying to find one of my current favorite pairings. To my distress, I found only TWO Kross/Raguna stories. **_**This cannot be! **_**I thought to myself and proceeded to write this little fic to maybe get the ball rolling. It's far from the greatest thing I've written (as I usually don't write pairings or any kind of romance) but I felt it must be done. So enjoy. My first (and probably last) pairing.**

**Oh right…**

**DISCLAIMER: Do not own anything. Really? Do I have to say it?**

**EDIT: Just fixing some mistakes and adding a few things. Nothing major.**

Raguna loaded in the last of his crops into the shipping box and wiped the sheen of sweat from his forehead. Finally done. He had spent all day in double time: fishing, watering, foraging, not to mention harvesting his newly ripe tomatoes and talking with all the villagers. With all that done, he still had one other thing he wanted to do before he turned in for the night. Cinnamon had told him of a constellation that could be seen tonight and he had been thinking about going to the observatory all day.

He looked up at the sky. By the placement of the sun, he guessed it was around five-ish. Meaning it was time to go to the Bath House before Rosetta showed up and whined about the two weeds he had put into the shipping bin. Rubbing his shoulders, Raguna started up the path that lead into the Church District. Although he knew it was probably easier, if not shorter, to take the path through the Business District, he liked the scenery of the Church District. The path was greener, thoroughly decked with flower and the stoic bees that worked busily at their pollinating. The Runeys that floated through the air added to the ambience.

He walked the path with a relative slowness; the reason a mix of exhaustion and his love for the scenery. Eventually though he sped up his pace and came to the entrance of the bath house. He entered the building and his ears were met with the high pitched voice of the Melody.

"Raguna! Welcome!" she said, standing up behind the counter. "You here for a bath?"

Raguna smiled politely. "Yes, please." He said, handing her ten gold.

She smiled at him warmly and he entered the men's bath. Quickly he undressed, (happy that Nolan was absent for once,) and got into the steaming water. He let his muscles relax as the soothing water overtook him. From the front of the building he heard Melody giggling with Selphy, who had just come out of the bath, he assumed. Somehow the sign of them talking brought about a strange anxiety in his chest. He didn't want to admit it, but it was because of his conversation with Stella earlier.

"Why haven't you gone found yourself a wife?" she had said.

Now he knew she had just been pulling his leg, but still it had brought a blush to his face when the thought of his long-haired neighbor came to mind. They were friends, sure, but anything else…

Raguna shut the thought from his head. He couldn't think about that. His thoughts seemed like they were resonating off of the empty tiled walls. Suddenly restless, he stood up and exited the bath.

The summer air seemed colder to him as it blew through his still-wet hair. He always liked the walk up to the Observatory, but tonight he was plagued by heavy thoughts.

_Kross? Why Kross? I mean, even by male standards, he's not that attractive_. That thought stopped him. "_Am_ I attracted to him?" He asked himself aloud, though at barely a whisper. He shook the thought from his head and continued to walk. _Of course not, why would I? I'm not attracted to his long hair, which hangs over his face and distracts from his eyes, and his eyes are so nice. They're so striking. Icy blue…_

"Oh, God," He moaned, leaning on a tree for support. "I am, aren't I?"

"Are what?" came a voice from behind. The low tone of the voice made Raguna almost jump out of his skin. He made an effort to regain himself and turned around to face his best friend.

"Hello Kross. Nice night, eh?" The other man seemed a little bit confused, but quietly responded.

"Yes. Such a nice night." His eyelids drooped a bit as he spoke.

"Um," Raguna started, picking the ground with his boot. "Aren't you usually asleep by now?"

"Hmm, the cruel silence of night clamors against troubled hearts, keeping them from repose."

"Ah." The younger man voiced. Kross always made him feel so ineloquent.

Kross didn't seem to mind Raguna's pathetic reply.

"Why are you up so late?"

"Constellations," The younger man said, remembering why he had been climbing up to the Observatory. And before he could stop himself, he bloated, "Wanna come with me?"

Kross nodded and Raguna turned, walking once more up the mountain path. The two walked in complete silence, the soft thud of their footfalls and the occasional pleasantry. Raguna couldn't help but feel the whole experience was awkward, but hoped Kross didn't pick up on it. He didn't.

When they arrived at the Observatory, Raguna strode ahead and plopped himself down on a comfortable plot of grass. He watched as Kross slowly followed, sitting more cautiously.

"What constellation are we looking for?" Kross asked as he got comfortable in the grass.

"Um. Cinnamon said it was called The Elephant." His voice sounded strange. Kross must have noticed. "We should be able to see it by now."

Kross looked at him and nodded. Together, both men faced the shimmering brilliance of the night sky. It took Raguna but a moment to identify the constellation.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, pointing to the sky. "There it is!" The small cluster of stars took the form of an elephant in his mind, replacing the seemingly unconnected dots.

Kross squinted up at the inky sky. He sighed. "I don't see it."

Raguna scooted closer to his friend and pointed again.

"See, that's his trunk. And his body. And those stars there make his legs." He said, tracing the stars with his finger.

He looked over at Kross to see if he could see it. And was suddenly aware of how close they were. He blushed red, but Kross was oblivious.

"Oh, there it is! He was lost amongst the chaos of light. Huh…" He turned toward Raguna. "Are you alright? You're quite red."

Raguna tried to stutter something to the beat of an excuse but was silenced by a sudden warmth on his lips. He almost didn't realize that Kross had kissed him until the other man pulled away.

"You wanted me to do that, yes?" Kross asked, also blushing slightly.

Raguna once again tried to speak, but a staccato of sounds was all he was capable of.

"Well I suppose I'll see you tomorrow," Kross said rising with a half-smile on his face.

"Seeya." Murmured Raguna, staring intently at the ground.

For a moment he wanted to get mad for getting caught off guard like that, but when it came down to it, it was his first kiss, under the stars with someone he cared for. How could he stay upset over that?

**Ah so here is my first (and probably only) fanfic devoted to any pairing. And I really like this pairing. I'm hoping that anybody out there who read this is willing to put themselves forth and try writing a fic about these two. Even if you think you can't write a good one. Don't worry. I didn't either. XD**

**Anyway thanks for playing along. R&R as usual. And write! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS SANE AND BEAUTIFUL!**

…**I really should go to bed….**


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